After a dark winter the beers of spring re-engaged the tastebuds with more vibrant hops than a lamb leaping with seasonal joy. Now summer has come around it's all about friends, beaches, barbecues, and beer gardens. Nothing hits the spot like a cool pint in the sun.

Summer is the time for breweries to appeal to new customers and non-ale drinkers in search of something different, and the golden, fruity, easy-going beers of the season are made for the job (in part because they look like lagers). Brewed to taste of something more tangible than 'drinkability' and 'refreshment', golden ales are the summer staple - sweet and biscuity to begin, then crisply hopped, full of fruity and floral flavours, with a quenching finish leaving you wanting more.

Hop Back's Summer Lightning (5.0% abv) is the daddy of golden ales. Made from Maris Otter malt and hopped with East Kent Goldings, its introduction in the 1980s was a parting-of-the-clouds moment in British brewing history, a bridge between the best bitters of Britain and the popular pale lagers of continental Europe. It's a great summer pint for drinking outdoors surrounded by the smells and sounds of summer (think elderflower, blossom, fresh cut grass – the beer tastes like the season). It makes an ideal match with Nigel Slater's pork or chicken burgers.

If you're in Scotland then look out for Fyne Ales' Somerled (4.0% abv), a made-for-summer brew, golden and delicious, or Fyne's Avalanche (4.5% abv), hopped with zesty Cascades it's a delicious beer, and both are a Thai curry's dream.

Jump to the south of England and Badger Brewery's summer seasonal is Lemony Cricket (4.4% abv), an ale brewed with lemongrass; light, citrusy and refreshing and ideal with spicy grilled prawns. Dark Star's HopHead (3.8% abv) is what warm beer gardens were made for, while their summer seasonals of Sunburst (a 4.8% abv golden ale) and Summer Meltdown (4.8% abv, brewed with stem ginger for extra zing), mark Dark Star out yet again as seasonal superstars – all are great with jerk or barbecue chicken.

Hop Back's Summer Lightning. PR

Of course, lager is good too, and there are some excellent British lagers, uniquely some of them are also cask-conditioned. Harviestoun's Schiehallion (4.8% abv) leads the way, zesty and herby thanks to the use of Challanger, Styrian Goldings, and Hallertau Hersbrücker hops, it's packed with flavour and excellent with seafood risottos, pastas or charmoula mackerel. BrewDog (another Scottish brewery - if you want good micro-brewery beer go to Scotland, see also: Orkney, Tryst and Williams Brothers) make 77 Lager (4.9% abv), hopped with Amarillo and Motoeka, it's closer to a US pale ale than Czech pilsener, but the fruity aroma and punchy bitterness make this a favourite fridge-filler to drink straight from the bottle, especially with pizza.

Meantime Brewery in Greenwich produce a great range of kegged lagers, perfect for drinking by the Thames in the new Old Brewery. Their Kolner, Helles, Pilsner and Union are stylistically (in both the brewing and fashion senses) spot on; uncomplicated and crisp they make excellent choices to accompany the fish and chips served in the restaurant or with salads and grilled meats.

Wheat beers, or weissbiers, have a wonderful savoury edge and often hints of flavours not commonly associated with beer, including coriander, clove, smoke, bubblegum and citrus peel. As Garrett Oliver explains in The Brewmaster's Table:

"Whatever you're having for brunch, lunch or dinner, the odds are going to be pretty good that weissbier will match it. This beer is dancingly light on the palate yet packed with flavour and aroma, highly effervescent and brisk yet low in bitterness."

Harvey's June seasonal is Copperwheat, with hints of orange and spice it's easy drinking and full flavoured, and Cains Brewery's July special is an Organic Wheat, fruity, spicy and floral. Spanish tortilla, tomato salad, sushi, herb-roasted fish, Chinese noodles ... the whole culinary world is a wheat beer's oyster.

Obviously, all of these beers are also great with a barbecue because every beer is great with a barbecue. By the same token it's not just the light beers which work, dark ales can still be enjoyed in the summer, especially with grilled meat where roasted malt flavours chime with the charred barbecued bits. A dark mild such as Thwaites' Very Nutty Black (3.9% abv) is an excellent example: low in hops but high in smooth caramel and chocolate flavour, it lends itself to refreshment while both turning and scoffing the sausages. And while we're on the subject we shouldn't neglect the ultimate recipe: Beer Can Chicken.

Of course, as touched upon last week in this post by Michael Booth, and ignoring all of the above the best summer beer in the world is an ice cold Mythos served in a frosted glass on a hot Greek beach, preferably with calamari so fresh it's practically still swimming (inside a lemon-squirted batter bathing suit).

Summer is perfect for tasty, uncomplicated fruity and floral thirst-quenchers that leave you wanting more; pints or bottles shared with friends while sitting in the sun and relaxing. What's your summer seasonal beer of choice, and is it the same as your ultimate barbecue beer?